Green Futures

The range of winners in the Sustainable Development category was wide enough, says Penny Walker, to make this year's Queen's Awards a real variety performance.

No-one was sure what kinds of companies would apply, when the Queen's Awards for Enterprise
unveiled the new Sustainable Development category three years ago.

Would they all be corporate giants with sustainability teams and sophisticated management systems? Or niche ventures whose core business is a sustainability solution, like renewables or recycling? Or
small players from mainstream sectors, proud of having taken great strides to make their everyday business more sustainable?

2003's winners were announced in April. And all these types of organisations, and more, had applied - and won.

The Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects portfolio includes some of the UK's greenest buildings, such as the Earth Centre and the new National Trust headquarters in Swindon, as well as social housing projects like a hostel for rough sleepers in Shepherd's Bush. But the company doesn't just design for well-informed clients, it has also been pushing forward research into better buildings. Its own footprint is pretty small, and the practice makes a point of 'giving something back' - its own charity recently funded six architects to design and help build a medical centre in Malawi.

The Greenham Common Community Trust has not only restored 750 acres of lowland heath at the once-notorious nuclear weapons site (providing a fantastic accessible amenity in the process), it has also built a business park there, in place of the US air base. Not just any old business park; this one includes arts and sports facilities and a Mencap centre, and it's part of an ambitious renewable energy project aiming at 100% self-sufficiency. And, since it's a trust, it distributes to charities the surplus from its role as landlord to 160 or so tenants £100,000 in 2002.

At the Seaview Hotel on the Isle of Wight, dozens of modest changes add up to a seriously sustainable stay. Owner Nicky Hayward has turned her attention to recycling, water and energy efficiency, and promoting public transport to guests, as well as sourcing fresh produce from local farmers and fishermen. Within the business, there's an emphasis, unusual in the catering sector, on training and developing staff, including a modern apprenticeship scheme for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. That's a lot of different issues for a small business to manage, but she doesn't see it that way: "Many small businesses do things which are now called corporate social responsibility because they love their communities and want to protect them."

This attitude is echoed by Julie Armstrong, part of the husband and wife team who set up J & G Environmental 18 years ago. "The company has a family feel, and we take a pride in helping the community," she says. J & G's core business is cleaning up - collecting the nastiest wastes from printers and photographic labs, recovering the parts with a market value and processing what's left to high standards. Another winner, Green Futures printers The Beacon Press, is one of J&G's customers - but prides itself on producing much less hazardous waste than other printers. Through technological innovation, Beacon has made deep cuts in its water consumption and its use of volatile organic compounds. It also audits its C02 emissions, keeping the net result to zero through a combination of green electricity purchasing and carbon offsets.

Of the other Award winners, BT Group scores for its "programme for sustainable development" and Rockware Glass for its "outstanding contribution to UK glass recycling"; Seabait cultures marine worms as bait and for animal feeds; St Gemma's Hospice provides care especially for ethnic minority groups; and the lubricants developed by Uniqema, part of the ICI group, have enabled huge energy efficiency gains in hydrofluorocarbon refrigeration, helping manufacturers to phase out the use of the banned ozone damaging CFCs.

For all their variety, this year's winners are united in one critical aspect - pursuing sustainable development has brought them genuine commercial success. Their achievement in winning the UK's most prestigious business honour can only enhance that success in the future.

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